Irrevocable
by ThirteenAM
Summary: Every being exists as a unique and distinct 'wave' in a special dimension parallel to the World Wide Web. Set in the modern day, an organization called STRM sends out agents to observe harmony in this dimension. To better serve the purpose, their aces, Vocaloids and Utauloids alike, possess abilities beyond normal. Join them as they battle through mysteries and disorder.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

**"A melody of death from me to you…"**

A smirk.

Then a musical laugh.

"Please… d-don't… do… i-it. I-I promise I w-won't do it againnn…" A low, quivering voice begged.

In the darkness of the midnight alley, a fifteen year old boy stood, his golden locks a contrast to the rain-stained brick walls in the background. A red-headed teen in blood-stained hoodie cowered before his presence, even though the latter was twice the former's size.

The boy shifted on his ankle-booted feet, crushing a few shards of glass on the ground that made the redhead cringe.

It was a quiet night, except for their little exchanges, and the sound of another voice hosting alien notes in the distance and a muffled scream drowned out by it.

"You're only begging because I finally figured out your _wavelength _before you did ours. Otherwise, you'd have continued your airy attitude and held onto your ill intent." The blonde took a step forward.

"I'll do anything you want!"

"I'm pretty sure your friend back there _faded_ already. I'm not sure why you shouldn't."

"B-but I'm different from him! I could be reasoned with! I could change!" The redhead took two steps away from the blonde. His back hit the dirty wall and his panicked expression only worsened.

"You've killed a lot of people. Someone should pay for it. If not the one who did it, then who?" A head poked from the far end of the alley. His hair was a royal blue against the pale light of a lone street light behind him and half of his face was covered in the same shade of muffler.

The redhead looked at him with fear. This blonde in front of him was already too much to handle. Adding this guy would completely shut his brain down out of terror.

"Riiiiiight, Kaito. I'm not even sure why we're still talking with him." The blonde raised his hand as if saying 'hey' to his seventeen year old friend, an act which seemed inappropriate for the serious situation they're in. He rolled his eyes and Kaito laughed.

"I bet you're still taking your time considering if you should let him fade or not. Huh, Len."

"And you didn't with this guy's matey?"

Kaito stepped away from the wall he was peeking from, revealing his ruined hoodie and jeans and deep cuts all over his body, dripping blood on the floor he's standing on.

"Wouldn't even let me think about it." The blue haired teen shrugged. "He just attacked and attacked until I did it."

The redhead looked at him like he lost his mind. _Of course his comrade wouldn't go down without a fight! It was also for survival!_

Len cocked his head and stopped himself from wincing at his friend's condition.

Kaito then made an attempt at walking towards Len and their redheaded captive, but his knees weren't able to support his weight, giving out, and he crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"Oii!" It took Len aback, forgetting that he's dealing with someone else. Their captive on the other hand, in a rush of bravery, or possibly because his brain had already shut down that he couldn't access any more logical reason, decided to take the opportunity to attack the blonde.

He raised his right arm and brought it down upon Len with such swiftness that the wind whistled around his arm like a hypersonic scream. His arm created a booming sound upon contact, Len flying backwards with his arms between them in a cross. _Wait, in a cross?_

Len, in fact, avoided his punch, holding his arm in place using a black leather belt which absorbed the magnitude of his specialty attack. The leather coiled itself on his arm tightly, and only now did he realize the absence of touch on his fist. The strength of the redhead's attack left them in one massive whoosh of force and he was left staring at the fifteen year old boy, dumbfounded.

"H-how…?" His eyes fell on Len's intense blue ones.

Len looked at him like he was a kid who got caught sneaking up on a cookie jar that wasn't his. The boy then smirked at him and fear found its way into his short circuiting brain once again.

"Your wavelength just told me that you haven't let go of your ill intent yet. " Len clicked his tongue.

The golden- haired boy opened his mouth and let loose a series of shrill notes, all far too alien yet melodic and synchronizing… and a word that resonated through the suddenly wildly vibrating air.

"…revoke…"

The redhead was rid of his last chance to scream as he immediately dissolved into colourful tendrils of smoke… until all that's left was a fading echo of his former existence.

Len breathed big gulps of air, tired. He remembered Kaito and whipped his head towards the blue-haired's direction.

"Kai…!" His call of concern was cut off after seeing his friend very much awake on the floor, watching him on his stomach with his chin resting on his hands.

"… and so we found out he still held onto his intentions." Kaito tilted his head, further smudging the blood that's growing on the floor with the movement of his muffler.

Len sighed and walked over to Kaito to give the latter a punch to the shoulder. Kaito winced and they both laughed.

"Mission for tonight's done!"

"Yeah, and now let's get you back to HQ to get treated." The blonde placed Kaito's arm over his shoulder and helped him up.

"I could go back there on my own, no need to worry yourself. You go back to your apartment and get some rest. Rin is waiting." Kaito took his phone from his pocket and took a video of the two of them for a quick report and immediately sent it to their network.

He strongly felt that Len, being 2 years younger than him, shouldn't overexert himself with all their work. Even he felt tired using his abilities in consecutive missions that required no delay; what more for the younger Len.

"You sure? You don't look too good."

"Doesn't feel as bad actually." The two of them snickered and walked out of the alley. Kaito's blue hair ruffled and took on a lighter shade as the wind picked up speed. Len held his sticking out hair down as he yawned.

A few moments later, they went their own separate ways.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Finally been able to post again! So sorry, school's been brutal.**_

_**I've been wanting to post this for a while now =_=**_

_**Anyway, here it goes**_

_**|13AM|**_

**A crisis already rises at the first chapter!**

**Chapter 1: Mystery Report**

**"…I repeat. Put all missions on hold and report to HQ immediately."**

Heels click-clacked across the marble floor as a girl ran for the board room of STRM building. Her teal twin tails flew behind her, hitting anyone and anything with every turn - singing apologies and bowing as she went. There was an uneasy feeling in the atmosphere and her usually cheerful voice didn't really help.

"Miku!" A pink haired woman called upon seeing her. They were both wearing corporate attire which was unlikely for their age.

"Luka! Any news? I tried to get back here as fast as I can." Miku answered breathlessly. She'd been away from the headquarters for so long because of an A class mission and had always wanted to go back to see her co-workers again. But this is definitely not one of the reasons why she wanted to go back.

Their agency, STRM, was in a state of alarm after confirming that two of their high-class members went missing. The board of directors deemed it safer if each one of their agents put their missions on hold first and reporting immediately would help them keep track of everyone. Miku and Luka were only two of their best agents, and they personally know that it would take a really strong enemy to take even just one of them down. But to have two of them missing…

**_Three days ago…_**

**Message from STRM**

**Agents,**

**This is a top-class information and command from the board. Everyone is expected to keep this a secret until we've confirmed all the details.**

**High class agents Shion Kaito and Kagamine Len have been reported missing. A formal report of their disappearance had been submitted to us last night at 11:03 pm by Agent Kagamine Rin after not being able to secure her twin brother's whereabouts for more than 24 hours. Further investigations conducted by her prior to the 24-hour time mark also revealed Agent Shion's disappearance.**

**According to our records, agents Kagamine and Shion were together in a job 5 hours before agent Rin realised her brother had not returned. Our system records also show that they were still able to send us a video report claiming their mission accomplished for that night.**

**Details on this case will be elaborated here in HQ. For now, we ask all agents to return to the headquarters as soon as possible.**

**IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR EVERYONE TO PUT THEIR MISSIONS ON HOLD TO REPORT IMMEDIATELY AND IF POSSIBLE, RETURN AT ONCE.**

** Intel-based Tech Expert**

** Agent IA**

"What happened?" Miku cannot keep the worry from her voice. Being a member of STRM had its perks and being able to know and foresee everything is one of those. But right now, she doesn't know what's happening and why. For all they know, the enemies might already be getting ready to attack them one by one and they wouldn't even recognize the enemy before it's too late.

"Aside from what IA sent us all and a bit more info, nothing else." Luka lead Miku towards the board room and went inside with her.

The large board room consists of an LCD screen covering one end of the room and missile-proof glass windows on the other. This time, blue-grey blinds drape over the windows, casting the whole room in shadow except for the flat screens on a far end table illuminating another side of the room.

The middle of the room was occupied by a large oblong mahogany table surrounded by velvet office chairs, one of which is occupied by a guy in black suit and blue tie. He had his head down, dark brown hair almost covering his eyes, the light from his laptop reflecting off of his glasses. He typed furiously as the two ladies approached.

"Kiyoteru… have you got anything?" Kiyoteru paused for a moment, then looked up at Luka's blue orbs. He had this tired look on his face yet his eyes burned with perseverance. Still, a dejected sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back on his chair.

"Aside from reports on when and who's coming back, still the same."

"About Kaito and Len…?"

Kiyoteru's dark eyes then fell on Miku.

"Oh, you're back, Miku…" The brunette removed his glasses and pushed his laptop away. His chair rolled backwards a bit and he turned it to properly face the two girls standing in front of him. He motioned for them to have a sit to which they complied, before proceeding to ask,

"Luka, have you told her what we've got?"

"Not yet, actually. She just got back. After meeting up, we went straight for this room. I think you could explain better with that present." Luka pointed at his laptop and he chuckled.

"Ok then, here goes." Kiyoteru started off by showing Miku the video report Kaito sent before they disappeared…

"… Agent Shion and Kagamine here!" A mop of blue hair and a face half hidden by a muffler appeared on screen, then redirected over at a blonde boy. Len was laughing as if nothing was wrong even though Kaito was covered with cuts and bruises.

"Geez, at least make a formal report!" Len must have hit Kaito because the blue-head responded with an 'oww' and the camera unfocused.

Miku raised her eyebrow at this. Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed it off—Kaito getting messed up even at the simplest of missions because he's too kind-hearted to take harsh things seriously. But now, they seemed so easy-going that it hurts to think they're nowhere to be found after the video.

"… and that's what happened…" Len was almost finishing the story of how their captives faded when Kaito cut in.

"And we promise to make a detailed report once we get back. Right now, can we rest first? Please?"

Len laughed. "And this guy would need a lot of bandages when he reaches the headquarters!"

"Shuddup."

They both laughed.

"Okay, okay. We out!"

The video ended with the two of them laughing.

"Rin…? How is she then?" Miku suddenly asked. Her eyes were cast down, sad yet focused on figuring the video out. _But there was nothing odd about the video!_

It was Luka who answered, while twirling her hair in her fingers, frustrated. "Rin was very distraught. She wouldn't eat properly nor sleep. She refused to sit down and wait for the results of our investigations. She wanted to be the one searching." Kiyoteru opened another file while Luka continued.

"She just woke up that morning and Len's not home. She dismissed it but as the day went by and Len hadn't even contacted her, she got worried. That's when she went out and started asking…"

Kiyotero finished for Luka with the opening of another video.

"… and the disappearance got trickier."

The brunette put his glasses back on and stared at the teal-haired girl, as if preparing to receive Miku's reaction on the next revelation.

"This is the CCTV footage Rin received from their apartment manager after the guard told her…"

Kiyoteru's glasses mirrored the screen of his laptop, effectively hiding his eyes.

"… that Len got back that night, with the footage actually showing that after he went inside their apartment, he never left."

**What happened to Kaito and Len?!**

**The Missing Aces Arc starts now!**


	3. Chapter 2

_**|13AM|: I'm going to apologize once again for taking so long. Even 'I' am being killed by my own cliffhangers.**_

_**Len: And how is that possible, author-kun?**_

_**|13AM|: Len-kun, add cliffhangers plus writer's block, that's it.**_

_**Len: Seriously? Writer's block this early in the story? You barely have 2 chapters!**_

_**|13AM|: I know! So shush now before I lose all the sudden inspiration in my head!**_

_**Len: Argh! I wanna know what happens to me already =3=**_

**Chapter 2: Frustrating Clues**

Rin woke up tonight the same way she had woken up that morning- very confused that her brother's not around. The only difference was that there's now an additional feeling, fear, because unlike then, she thinks that Len might not come home anytime soon, and that it might not be something entirely controlled by him.

She combed her messy golden locks back, her white ribbon headband lost somewhere. She stretched her stiff muscles that she got from the awkward position she slept in on the couch. Somehow, in the midst of her desperate investigation, she ended up back in their apartment, where the traces of her brother took a dead end.

She hoped that her investigations aren't at a dead end in the same way.

Rin got up and went to the bathroom to fix herself. By the time she was almost done, she heard the familiar ring of her phone, almost immediately igniting her blue eyes with hope.

She dashed out and into the living room, finding her phone ringing and vibrating on the wooden center table. She grabbed it and checked the screen. On top of all the calls she missed or chose not to answer, one name flashed, trying to connect to her phone.

Miku.

She was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Len but it didn't diminish her hope a bit.

"Yes?" Rin answered all too eagerly. Miku must've arrived at the headquarters. She hoped that, at least, they've found one more clue to give them a hint.

"Rin." Miku said. "You got me nervous back there; I thought something happened to you, too."

"I guess I was busying myself with worry." The blonde answered wearily.

There was a sigh at the other end.

"So..."

"I'm sorry but we still don't have new clues." Miku answered all too hurriedly.

"It's alright." Rin replied back quickly. She cannot afford to down the other, too.

But before she realized it, tears had clouded her eyes and she felt the need to tell someone her feelings. Never was it in her whole life had she felt this disconnected to her twin.

"Tell me..." Miku said. "Oh and where are you, Rin? I'm coming over to help with the investigation."

Rin felt glad and held onto the phone with determination, wiping the tears away.

"Back at our apartment."

"Uhmm, can we meet up somewhere else? Like, at the bar by the end of Werner Street?" That was odd, Rin thought. That place was impractically far from either HQ, the twins' apartment or the airport. It was a shady place for a public establishment, too.

"Uh, sure…? Where are you anyway?"

"Eto… on the road near Werner."

"Okay…" Rin can't help it. Her answer was kind of dragged out.

Before Rin could cut the connection off, Miku hurriedly said 'wait'. The latter released an uncomfortable sound from her end, almost inaudible but the blonde caught it.

"How far are you into the investigation? The others, what've they gotten?"

Miku waited silently on the other end.

"Kiyo said Len just disappeared…" Rin stood at the exact same place Kiyoteru said was where the last traces of Len were. It was that space outside her bedroom, just by the door. She just realized they'd been so near already, yet so far.

"Kaito… I'm sure Kiyo told you already."

"No, what?" The tealette's voice seemed forceful and unworried for Rin's tastes.

"Huh?" The blonde was confused. "Luka must've briefed you once you'd gotten back. Haven't you gone back to HQ yet?" Rin's brows furrowed as she prepared to leave the apartment. She set the phone on loudspeaker.

"Err, yes, I've gone there and left immediately actually. I haven't met Luka yet. Kiyoteru, too. I think they're out investigating." By the end of that Rin had stepped out of the apartment building already and was waiting for a cab. The blonde teen found herself unconsciously browsing through Luka's unread messages to her.

The messages one after another read:

From: Luka nee-chan~

We've sent messages to all agents, Rin-chan, if you haven't opened your email yet. Some have started checking in.

From: Luka nee-chan~

I'm staying at HQ to monitor everyone who's coming and going. Kiyo-kun and I will be investigating from here. If you wanna see us, just come to HQ.

From: Luka nee-chan~

You're not answering our calls, but I trust you're fine. After all, you won't go down till you know Len's fine, right? =3= Rest though. Your brother will only laugh at you if his savior is looking like crap.

From: Luka nee-chan~

Still at HQ. No additional clues yet. Miku's on her way here. I'm meeting up with her so that we could brief her.

"So Rin, where are we in this case? Enlighten me on the details please." Rin stopped reading at the same time a cab halted in front of her. The driver looked up at her from his open window expectantly.

"Ummm… Werner street… please?"

"How was that possible?" Miku pursed her lips as she watched the footage play over and over again. The briefing had suddenly turned into a segment of Miku's Special Commentary Show.

"If he'd gone out through the window…" Miku continued. Luka watched her with an indiscernible look on her face. Kiyoteru leaned back on his chair wearily.

"No, that can't be it. If he did, someone would have seen him no matter what time it is considering their neighborhood." Miku cut herself off.

"And I told you, when I searched for his traces…" Kiyoteru groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, he vanished exactly in front of the door to Rin's bedroom. Poof!"

"Miku, we passed that line of thought a hundred times before already. We need new clues because we can't figure anything out of just the footage and Len's traces anymore." Luka said patiently as Miku visibly deflated.

"We also confirmed that the video was legit; not edited, sabotaged, whatever our enemies could have done to fake it. There were human witnesses: two janitors, the night shift guard who took roams like the responsible person he is, even the granny in the apartment across theirs whose door was always open and acted more like the landlady of the whole place and a stickler for rules. And yep, I knew that because she and her grandson were so talkative it all just spilled when I haven't even asked that much." Kiyoteru summarized.

"And why the kid was still awake at that time? Apparently he was still playing Clash of Clans when he noticed Len from across through their door and waved at him." Luka chuckled but it lacked the necessary mirth.

Miku just sat there silently. After a moment, she breathed, "Are we investigating Kaito's and Len's cases separately?"

Luka was glad their conversation moved on. "Well, not exactly. We've tried that angle, too, but…"

Kiyoteru piped in, "…and we've tried what I think you're thinking…"

Miku looked at him. "Yes, find clues on Kaito and perhaps they're connected to Len…"

"But Kaito's a lost case really…", the bespectacled man said as he massaged his temples.

"Kiyo!", reprimanded the pink haired woman. "You don't have to put it that way!"

The tealette paled a bit. It would certainly take an expert eye to notice.

"I'm telling the truth, at least from my point of view and on my angle." Kiyoteru seemed like he wanted to snap at Luka but held himself for Miku and professionalism's sake. After all, they're not the ones who has his stream psychometry ability. They can't even begin to imagine how frustrated he is over this case when he should have made everything so much easier.

Apparently, someone has already found a way to mess up with STRM's way of tracking. That could only mean their investigations are going to be more difficult from now on.

It ticks Kiyoteru, really. There's definitely a crack on his pride as their org's psychometrist.

"So… anything on Kaito at all?" Miku brushed off the uncomfortable silence that preceded her question. Also, for professionalism's sake, she could not give up now.

"We can't even tell where and when Kaito had begun disappearing. The last thing we knew of him was from the video report they sent after that last mission. He didn't have a trace back at his condo or studio, so we could assume he never got there." Luka explained before she asked Kiyo to take over like he wouldn't say anything harsh again.

"We went to the location of their mission. Sure, Shion's and Kagamine's traces were still there." Kiyoteru noted.

The pink haired woman took over again for some reason. "Afterwards, we asked Kiyo to follow Len's tracks first and you already know where that got us." Miku nodded. "We had him go back immediately to track Kaito from where he and Len parted ways and after a while, I quote," with Luka wiggling two fingers in the air for quotation marks, "'Kaito gradually blurred and was all over the place.'"

"Huh?", the tealette didn't follow and so she looked at the bespectacled man for any clarification.

"That was how his tracks felt to me. I couldn't really give a more accurate description. He was walking at the side of the road, you know, the blue, minty wave that he is. I sort of knew where he was going, but it was a 'general that way direction' kind. Then, when I followed his tracks further, it just felt like he was there, but it was so faint I couldn't be sure. And before I knew it, even the tracks I followed up till there suddenly vanished." By now Kiyoteru was waving his hands in the air in an attempt to explain further. God, why is explaining his ability so hard?

"Just gone?"

"Yes, so can you even blame me if I'd doubt the tracks that lead me there? Poof! At a random side of the road. Not even a trace left." Kiyoteru sighed.

Miku also sighed. "Now I understand the 'lost case' choice of words." Luka looked down. Kiyoteru shrugged apologetically.

"Where do we go from here?" The three of them were silent. Each one thinking on all angles possible. Miku whined inwardly. Why couldn't clues just fall from the sky like rain or something? Then she remembered Rin.

"Oh!" Luka looked at the tealette, wondering if she finally had a plan.

"We gotta tell Rin I arrived!" Luka murmured 'oh yeah'.

Miku reached for her purse which she unwittingly discarded on the chair to her left. She stopped short of it upon noticing a familiar rectangular glow coming from within.

Her brows furrowed. At her hesitance, the two other occupants of the room stared at her. Miku fished her phone out, the screen saying:

Ongoing call:

Kagamine Rin-chan

Miku hurriedly put the phone to her ear. Then, she swore.

"Damn, someone hacked my lines. Rin!"


	4. Chapter 3

**_|13AM|: =3= Why is it so hard for me to add new characters? Btw, as you all know, Vocaloids and Utauloids aren't mine~_**

**_Len: Aren't you a little too late to be saying that? It's the third chapter already…_**

**_|13AM|: Just wanna say it still…_**

**_ I hope y'all stick around and see how the story goes :3—even if it takes me forever to upload. I know, I know, I'm sorry… I swear I won't take forever._**

**Chapter 3: Raining Rage**

Perhaps it was worry. It could be anger, too. But Rin doesn't care anymore. Someone was baiting her. She'd purposely let herself fall, then just decide what to do next from there. Right now, she'd take on anything. Just, please, don't let her face a dead end anymore.

The girl on the other line couldn't have been Miku; doesn't matter if it was actually Miku's number and sounded exactly like the tealette. Anything electronic could be faked nowadays. It could've been hacked for all she knew. Though that really sounded bad because STRM's connections were supposedly impenetrable. STRM agents work in an orderly manner, her Luka-nee chan most of all, so it just doesn't make sense for the pink haired woman to text her that she's at HQ waiting for Miku while Miku called her and told her to meet up without going to Luka or HQ yet. Plus, Miku never liked shady places; Werner Street had never been in their list of hangout places. It was the place for mafia and yakuzas, not agents of order like them.

Still, what made her so sure that Luka's line hadn't been hacked? What harm could she get from going to HQ anyway? So that counts the doubt out.

Rin sat silently at the back of the cab. The Miku on the line had given up trying to get any information about their investigation out of her the moment she went into hysterical mode. The blonde started with 'Len disappeared…' supported by a shaky voice and a few fake sobs—she had to duck her head during that one because the driver would be weirded out—and then a bit more 'Miku, what do I do? I don't know what to do.' The faker seemed to buy the ruse yet kept the call ongoing even if they held no conversation between them. Thank Len and his insistence on Rin learning the art of pretending, though the boy really hated it when she teased him every time he had to pretend he was a she; but he's just too cute he could pass for a girl and looked exactly like Rin when she stares at her reflection…

…like what she's doing now, staring solemnly at her own reflection in the window of the cab. She liked to think it was a pretending-Len looking back at her, calm and patient.

And she let her thoughts sink back to reality, wondering why the faker hadn't ended the call yet. It could be so that the others wouldn't be able to connect to her through a busy phone. Hmm. Legit yet stupid. She could still send text messages anyway but didn't.

If the faker was really just as stupid as Rin thought she was, then let her actions of going head on alone be a surprise gift with the vengeance of a worrying and weary sister.

If not, then let it be a challenge accepted between the two of them, because Rin will milk her of any information she could, Len-related or not. If she could get any clue regarding Len and Kaito, then good. Otherwise, she'd greatly pay for wasting the blonde's time and effort.

The cab stopped in front of the bar and Rin paid the driver.

Stepping out, she held her phone to her ear once again. With her voice uncharacteristically low and calm, she said, "I'm here.", all pretense thrown out the window with Len's reflection on it.

"Damn that girl. If she goes missing, or anything happens to her, just anything at all…!" Luka ground her teeth together. Not reporting to them was one thing; this—whatever this is, is another.

Miku had tried several times to end the call but to no avail. Her phone seemed to have stopped being interactive. She tried to smash the phone, and miraculously, there wasn't even a scratch on it.

Kiyoteru now held the phone, trying to get a feel of what's going on. "It's a stream-based ability, alright. I think someone is contacting her as you, Miku." The bespectacled man paused to concentrate.

"Damn, can't be sure though. It's too electronic for my ability to trace."

"Who do we call for this?" Miku's mind was running in circles. The others were just coming back; they don't have their full force at their disposal yet.

"IA?" Luka suggested. She contradicted herself immediately. "No, IA only has an intel-based stream ability. Yes, she may enter and hold programs and data but she cannot track them the way we need right now."

"Wait, don't we have that kid from the east department? What does he do?" Kiyoteru was rapidly scanning faces in his mind when a certain kid's popped up. They've been briefed enough by IA about all the members of STRM agency and what they could do back when they were just new to the group. Though it's not possible to remember everyone, some faces just stood out.

"East… east…" Luka tried to remember.

"I think there's a Lui in there. Hibiki Lui!" Miku squealed. By the time Luka recognized the name, Kiyoteru had already sent IA a message asking if Hibiki Lui had already arrived. Almost immediately, IA answered, a dialog box appearing on the man's screen.

'He'd actually just arrived. I asked him to hurry to the lobby. Meet him there.'

"Okay, Kiyo, you handle explaining this to IA and all the info dissemination stuff. We'll meet up with Hibiki-kun. Once you're done, follow us. We'll keep you informed." Luka ordered. Kiyoteru could only mutter a yes as he began a new message for IA.

Miku and Luka rushed towards the lobby, their long hair trailing behind them. They had arrived and the supposed Hibiki Lui wasn't there yet. Miku stared impatiently at her phone.

1 minute.

2 minutes.

3 minutes.

4 min…

A petite form emerged from the lobby doors and moved breathlessly towards the two, strawberry blonde hair slightly ruffled from the run.

"I beg your pardon for taking so long and being so late. My name is Hibiki Lui." The kid bowed in embarrassment.

STRM is a big agency, so it's not surprising that all its agents haven't met each other personally yet despite existing for a long time already.

"It truly is a pleasure to meet aces like you. I'll do my best.", said Hibiki, still from his bowed position. Luka can't help but chuckle as she asked him to straighten up.

"You're too modest." Miku trailed off, looking at Luka while gesturing at the kid in front of them, "… isn't she… he? Huh?" Her sentence started with a small smile before breaking into an unsure expression once she looked him over. At the sudden confusion, the tealette paused. She was not sure where her bluntness was taking her.

Apparently, Hibiki had an idea what was going to come next to her words. He'd experienced it far too many times.

"I'm a boy, yes. Sixteen year old boy." He chuckled. Oh, so same age as Miku. And really a boy. He looked androgynous. Effeminate even. She was surprised.

That aside, "So, we need you to track this call." Miku held up the phone. It glowed, still with Rin's number on the screen. "Can you do that?" Thankfully, the call was still ongoing, but who knows what happened to Rin already.

"Yes, my abilities are a bit like Hiyama-senpai's, but it only works when the subject I'm going to track is in direct contact with an active electronic." The strawberry-blonde explained timidly.

"So you know Kiyoteru?" Luka chimed in.

"Umm, you guys are famous?" Hibiki looked sheepish, seeming even more like a blushing girl by the minute. Miku thought that if he continued it, he might actually 'miraculously' turn into a girl. Just how modest could he get?

"Oh," Miku chuckled, "…anyway, your ability's perfect. Here." She handed Hibiki the phone, who took it gingerly but without delay.

"I'll be doing it here. I understand you'll need to act on it immediately, yes?" As he said that, a flat, red cord emerged from behind him, surrounding him and the phone which he placed between his palms.

Both Luka and Miku nodded, staring at him intently.

"Here it goes then." Hibiki's eyes glowed orange, pupils momentarily disappearing.

The two aces stepped back a little, suddenly feeling static electricity running on air surrounding the blonde. Hibiki stared unseeing in front of him, and Miku swore she caught a glimpse of 'that' dimension reflected in his eyes. That dimension parallel to the network of connections of the world, but in there, instead of seas of data and programming languages, there were waves and streams representing knowledge and existences.

On the other hand, in Hibiki's eyes, it wasn't purely like that.

'Tracking device… begin.'

The moment he started, Miku and Luka had faded from his view. What he saw in front of him instead was a big map, covering as far as the next two cities from theirs. It was fluid looking, a miniature replica of the real landscape he was browsing into, with small flickering dots dusting the surface where active electronics are.

His vision tilted on a new axis, and he found himself floating like a satellite on top of their city.

Hibiki let his stream, his own 'wave' flow into the phone he held between his palms. He was met with static noise.

Unbeknownst to him, Luka and Miku saw the phone flicker and pixelate. The latter was going to point it out, but decided against it thinking it was Hibiki who caused it.

He was never supposed to hear anything when he's using his ability, so his confusion was understandable. He tried once again, adding a bit more of his stream, and the map zoomed to just the view of their city.

Then came a huge buzzing electric shock.

Hibiki gasped, his back arching in surprise and slight pain. He unwittingly dropped the phone as his body started to feel numb from the shock attack. Luka and Miku reappeared in front of him.

"Lui!" Luka cried out in concern. One moment, the boy was staring blankly in front of him—which Luka assumed to be his tracking face—the next, he stiffened like he was electrocuted.

Miku started on her way towards him but was stopped by Hibiki's hand held up in a 'don't come near me' notion, and the unmistakable sharp feeling of something unfriendly surrounding him. Her bangs almost stood on end. Almost.

Hibiki bowed his head, his light hair covering the look of surprise in his face. Something still ran throughout his system; it was an unpleasant feeling. He hugged himself in the hopes he could pull himself together.

"What's wrong?" Miku just had to ask.

The blonde boy tried to blink away the numbness, but can't because he's still feeling the buzz in his body. His spine tingled and he could feel it down to his toes. He tried to suppress another spasm, having it look like he just shivered. He swayed on his feet, but only a bit that both aces didn't catch it. The blonde raised his guards up, still intent on finding his subject's location, this time somehow sure he won't be taken aback by satellite noise. The shock wasn't repeated again, but he decided to make it quick just in case he was mistaken.

"Interference… I think." he breathed out. "Someone from the other side seems to be acting like a firewall or something…"

"Are you okay?" Luka walked so that she was side by side with Miku. "Can you continue?" She thought she smelled ozone when she came nearer.

"Yes, it's a normal reaction of mine to firewalls. I'll get to it in a bit." _Though it's awfully big and strong for a firewall. _Hibiki didn't voice that out though.

The blonde bent to pick the phone up but Lui froze, this time seeing the flicker that was the phone on the floor.

"…still in the city…" Miku and Luka barely caught the phrase that hurriedly slipped past his lips when the phone in front of the boy exploded with such massive force unnatural of its mass.

Rin entered the bar only to find it empty. How odd… yet she wasn't surprised. Only the lights by the windows and the counter proper were open. Rin assumed the place wasn't deserted before she came; there were smashed glassware on the floor, food untouched and halfway touched alike on the tables, personal belongings like phones and bags strewn all over the place. What's weird though was that all the electronics in the place were lit up and flickering, and there certainly was a brunette sitting in the shadows by the farthest corner of the room.

"Took you long enough, Rin-chan…" Mentioned girl jumped as the phone—not hers—nearest to her buzzed with the voice. Wow. How unprofessional of her.

Rin crouched into a fighting stance, arms ready and waiting as she circled and sent wary glances at the electronics surrounding her before staring defiantly at the figure in the shadows.

"Eh? Why are you being openly distrustful? It's me, Miku-chan." Miku's voice echoed through multiple phones at once, lighting up in different colors like dubstep pads littering the floor.

"Don't mess with me." The girl growled.

"Oh my… but you came all the way here to meet me. I thought you were asking for it."

"Where's my brother?" The ground underneath Rin glowed a bit, vibrating faintly with her suppressed rage.

"Why don't you look in front of the mirror?" The girl hasn't even stepped out of the shadows yet. Rin threw all logic, assessment, every bit of her learned protocol away.

She stomped her foot, teeth gritted. All sorts of glassware exploded.

**_|13AM|: I think it's illegal to have that much cliffhanger around, but shit's about to get down in the next chapter and I'm pretty confident I could have it posted in the next day or two so… meh :p_**

**_Thanks for the reviews and faves by the way!_**


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